Onwards
by FictionLover007
Summary: After the Snap that put the Endgame to rest, Tony Stark woke up in the one place he least expected. Now he will have to move forward in the afterlife, but how can he do that when the world around him keeps on spinning, and Iron Man is being called to fight one more time?
1. Chapter 1

When he woke up, Tony Stark knew where he was immediately. The stone walls featured in so many of his nightmares closed him in, but yet, felt so different from so many years ago. The small workroom in a cave, in Afghanistan, felt cold, and devoid of life in comparison to the fueled hatred and fear, heated by the active forge in the corner. He eyed the table, the plans for Mark I and the Arc Reactor still laid out on the surface, when a voice sounded behind him.

"So this is where it all began, huh?"

Tony turned, and tensed, taking in the sight of Natasha Romanoff, who was casually leant against the door frame. Still wearing her quantum suit, she looked like nothing had happened to her at all on Vormir, and yet, he knew the story. He had heard the pain and desperation in Clint's voice when the archer told them what happened, how she fell, but now, it was like a bad dream, and there she stood, absolutely fine.

"It's okay you know. When I woke up, I was back in the Red Room, staring at a blood stain on the floor. I don't know why death brings us here, but somehow, it makes sense in a way. We come back to the places where we become who we were meant to be, the origin of our own journeys, and then we are meant to move on, onto what's next."

Tony barely heard what she said, still trying to process what was in front of him. Finally, he stuttered out a faint "Natasha?", as his brain tried to catch up with what he was seeing. The Black Widow smiled at the engineer, and wrapped the man up in a hug. Finally Tony realized that he was not imagining things, and she was really there, and he hugged her back, clinging to her like a lifeline.

A few moments passed and then the two pulled away. Both of them had tears streaming down their faces, which they tried to wipe away without the other noticing, but failed. Seeing each other's tear streaked faces, they laughed, and climbed up off the floor, only then realizing at some point they had collapsed onto the hard surface.

Taking his hand, Natasha led Tony out of the cave. Outside was not the system of corridors that he remembered, but rather a garden, full of strange looking flora and fauna. She led him down a pathway and said "Come on, there are some people waiting to see you." Tony was confused for a moment, before he recognized a crowd of people standing in the middle of the garden. At the front of the crowd stood Maria Stark, her husband (his father) standing immediately beside her. His steps faltered for a moment, but Natasha dragged him closer, and Tony had to shuffle to prevent himself from falling.

When they finally reached the crowd, Maria leapt towards her son, wrapping him in an embrace. She wept into his shoulder, and he curled his arms around her, taking in her scent, her touch and her feel, exactly as he had remembered it. He began to cry again, and her grip tightened around him. A hand slowly settled on his shoulder, and Tony looked up to see the face of his father, the man he had had a love-hate relationship with for most of his life. But meeting Stark Sr.'s gaze just now, the resentment, the hatred, the anger, it all melted away, and the two men, perhaps for the first time, finally understood each other. This was the Howard Tony had met in 1970, the one who was excited for a child, and hadn't yet had the chance to become bitter at the world. Tony peeled one arm away from his mother, and dragged Howard into the fold, and for the first time, perhaps in a long time, they felt like a family again.

After what seemed like an eternity, a sharp voice resounded, saying "I know he's your son and all, but stop hogging him. Otherwise we'll be here all day." Howard chuckled, and drew back, and slowly Maria did too. Looking out at the other faces, Tony recognized his aunt Peggy, and Edwin Jarvis standing not too far away from where he stood. Behind them was Phil Coulson, and...Ho Yinsen. Seeing all of these faces again brought more tears to Tony's face, and Jarvis stepped forward, wrapping his former charge in the third hug since he got here. Jarvis whispered how proud he was of Tony, and how much he had missed him. Hearing it made something in Tony's chest swell up, and he tucked his head under the English man's chin, allowing himself to feel more like the vulnerable child that had done the same thing almost thirty years ago.

Tearing himself away from the parental figures in his life, Tony sniffled, and turned to Peggy Carter, whom he had not seen since three months into her dementia diagnosis. "Hi Aunt Peg." Tony choked out, his throat already worn from the crying. The woman he was addressing smiled, and her eyes began to water, but they both knew tears would not fall. Peggy Carter was by any means, a sentimental woman, but she was strong enough that people would not necessarily see it. But she didn't need to cry in order to show her godson how much she had missed him, and as she swept him into another hug, they both allowed an unspoken communication to pass between them. "Anthony Stark…" She states, with a stern tone. "You weren't at my funeral." Tony laughed, still on the verge of sobbing. "Sorry Aunt Peg. I don't think some of your guests would've been too welcoming at that moment."

She nodded, and said "Hmm, yes, remind me to smack Steve when he gets here. We will be having words." Instinctively, both of the Stark men and Jarvis scratched the back of their heads, clearly remembering when they had had to have words with Peggy Carter. "Yes, ma'am." Tony nodded, a small smile gracing his lips.

Finally he pulled away from his family, and shook the hands of both Phillip Coulson, and Ho Yinsen, both of them sending him smiles that told Tony that even though they were not family, they were both proud of him. Coulson made a short comment on how "You did good Stark," and Yinsen nodded, whispering "You didn't waste it. You are now the man with everything." That comment almost made Tony stop short, but then he noticed someone else, someone he didn't recognize.

He approached the man, who only appeared to be a few years younger than Tony. His blue eyes twinkled with a sense of both wonder and mischief, and Tony realized who this man was. Tony cleared his throat, and extended his hand. "You must be Ben Parker. I've heard a lot about you."

Ben smiled, and said "I know. Thank you for taking care of Peter for me."

Tony's smile faltered. "But, I didn't. He...he died because of me."

Ben shook his head. "Peter didn't die because of you. He would have passed like everyone else, whether on Earth or Titan. But he was SAVED because of you, and I could never thank you enough for that. None of us can."

Although Tony didn't necessarily believe Ben, something eased within the engineer's mind. That's right. He saved them. He saved all of them. He saved Peter. He saved Pepper, and Morgan, and Bruce, and Steve. Thor, Clint, Strange, Quill, Nebula, all of them. They're all okay now. A look of shock slowly emerged, and was succeeded by a grin. Howard stepped forward, and took his son's hand.

"Your fight is over, my boy. And now, I think we all agree, it's time you get some rest." And so Tony allowed himself to be led once more through this garden, and an establishment of homes came into view. Tony looked around, and asked "What is this place?" He tried to take in the purple sky, and the flat landscape around him. Animals of all sizes wandered around, and people milled about like it was a regular Sunday afternoon.

Maria answered the question. "It has a few names, under many faiths and customs. Some call it heaven, others Valhalla, a few call it Elysium. But I think we have all come to agree, it is home."

Trying to process the existence of an afterlife was a headache that Tony's brain refused to endure right at that moment, and so, for now, it just accepted the peaceful existence that surrounded him. Finally they stopped at a house that closely resembled the lakehouse that Tony had lived in for the last five years. His face split into a grin as he walked through the front door, his home almost exactly as it was when he left it. Morgan's toys weren't scattered around the place haphazardly, but the pictures of his wife and daughter all adorned the walls. He smiled upon spotting his wedding photo, Rhodey and Happy both behind Tony, and Natasha standing next to Pepper, as her maid of honor. Pepper was wearing a beautiful cream dress, with threads of gold shooting through the fabric into an intricate pattern of flowers and beads. It had been the first time since the snap that Tony had remembered to smile for the whole day, even when he saw all of the empty chairs dedicated to those he lost. He brushed the frame of the photo with his finger, and moved on to look at the picture of himself holding Morgan for the first time. Pepper looked beautiful, despite having just given birth, and Tony sat sideways on the bed next to her, cradling his daughter in the softest hot-rod red blanket he could find. Her little hand was wrapped around his finger, and briefly, Tony could feel the sensation of her holding onto him again. That's when he noticed a live video feed playing on the smart table in the living room. All of the remaining Avengers stood in smart, black clothing, on a small pier, and Pepper and Morgan stood at the front.

"What is this?" Tony asked. Natasha stepped forward and began to explain. "There's something like this in all of our homes. It allows us to watch our loved ones from the afterlife. They can't see or hear us, but it's a comfort to know how they're doing, even when it hurts to not do more."

"Yeah, no, I get that, but what is this? What are they doing?" Tony pointed to the feed, and Jarvis shook his head, able to understand, despite the confused faces of everyone else. "Did you think they wouldn't mourn?"

Tony turned back to the feed. Jarvis wrapped his arm around the man. "Anthony, you have had such an influence on the lives of everyone on Earth, whether they know it or not. These people you see, they are the ones you impacted the most. Pepper and Morgan, Peter, Harley, they will constantly acknowledge the hole you leave behind because the patriarch of the family is gone. The Avengers, they will see an empty chair, an empty workshop, and a voice in their earpieces will be absent forever because their friend is gone. They will feel that loss too. Rhodey will look at his armor, and will need to make repairs as the years go on, knowing his best friend is gone, and he couldn't say goodbye. Billions of people all over the galaxy will owe you their lives, and they will mourn you."

Tony looks at Jarvis, tears streaming down his face now. Jarvis takes his hands, and cups Tony's cheeks, guiding the billionaire to meet his eyes. "You were so loved when you were alive Tony, and you will continue to be loved even though you are gone. Never forget that, and never doubt that." With that, Jarvis wiped his thumb over Tony's cheekbones, sweeping away the tears on his face. Tony choked on a loud sob, and once more, found himself smothered in the arms of his family. They stayed like that until Tony fell asleep in Jarvis' arms, and Howard picked up his son, and carried him to the bed, and there Howard, Maria, Jarvis, and Peggy stayed for the rest of the night.

Natasha stayed out in the living room that night. She watched Clint and Wanda reminisce on the bank of the lake, as Pepper tucked her daughter into bed with a tiny Iron Man, and she eyed Steve as he stared a tad too long at the Infinity Stones, knowing that might not end well.

The next day, Tony and Natasha watched as Steve returned the Infinity Stones to their proper places in the timeline. The two of them sat on the couch, grasping each other's hands as he travelled to Morag, New Jersey, New York, Asgard, and then finally, Vormir. Natasha shuddered, watching Steve take in her corpse, still lying broken on the harsh rock at the bottom of the cliff. She watched as he released the stone, dropping it over the edge, refusing to acknowledge the keeper floating behind him.

And then they watched as he didn't go back. At first, they were both confused. And then Tony realized what he was doing. As Steve Rodgers put on his uniform and walked into the Stork Club, asking Peggy Carter in her prime for a dance, the man out of time finally got to go home.

They watched Steve's life over the next 70 years, watching as he got married, as he had children with Peggy, the day they celebrated her becoming Director of SHIELD, the day Peggy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and the day she was buried. And at the end, they watched as Captain America passed on the mantle to Sam Wilson, knowing that his legacy was in safe hands.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a only a few short weeks later when Steve Rodgers woke up in a sterile exam room in a secret basement in New York. He was confused for a moment, having just gone to bed in the room he had shared with Peggy before she died. But then he quickly realized he was in the room where he had become Captain America. And then he realized there was someone behind him.

At first, Steve thought he was looking at a ghost. There stood Tony Stark, looking more at peace for the first time than he had ever seen. The older man had cleaned up well since the battle with Thanos, even having changed into similar clothes to the ones he wore before Scott showed up. Tony had his arms folded across his chest, but the look on his face was calm, almost happy even.

"Tony?" Steve approached the man slowly, afraid that the other man was about to disappear. Tony smiled. "Hi Steve. Good to see you."

"Where are we?" Steve asked, looking around.

"Where do you think we are?" Tony asked, a little bit of humor leaking into his tone.

"New York?" Steve answered, not entirely confident in that answer.

Tony snorted, and walked towards Steve. "Nope. Wanna try again there Capsicle?"

Unable to meet the other man's eye, Steve whispered "Heaven?"

Tony lifted his hand to push Steve's head up, forcing him to make eye contact. "Yeah. And there are a lot of people who want to see you."

Panic welled up in Steve's chest. "Tony, I...I am so…"

"Woah, woah, woah, none of that blubbering now, alright? Steve, you hear me?" Tony grasped Steve's shoulders.

Steve started hyperventilating. "It should've been me. You shouldn't be here. You should be with Morgan, with Pepper! I am so sorry Tony. I dragged you into this, and now…"

"Steven Grant Rodgers, shut up!" Tony snapped.

Steve froze, not wanting to anger the other man. Tony softened, and said "Steve, look at me."

Steve met his eyes, unsure of what to do. "Steve, you did not drag me into this, you got that? You may have brought Scott to me, but the truth is, I've been working on that Quantum machine long before Scott arrived. Do you seriously think I figured out time-travel in one night? I'm smart, but not that smart. Hell, I was working on that in my head from the moment we got back to Earth. I was in this fight from the moment Thanos sent his army to Earth with Loki. You did not drag me into this. As for what happened, that was my choice. I guessed that something might happen, that Thanos might figure out what we were doing, and try to cheat. It's why I made the gauntlet compatible with my armor. I knew there may be a possibility that one of us would need to use the stones. And I even knew that by doing so, one of us might die. I don't regret that Steve, and you should've either."

Steve locked eyes with the other man, trembling in his grasp. Finally, after a moment of silence, the super-soldier dragged the engineer into a hug, and there they stayed for a long while.

Eventually, Tony cleared his throat and pulled away. "Come on," he said. "The others are waiting."

Steve looked confused, and said "Others?"

Tony nodded, and said "See the way things work around here is that when someone dies, they end up in the place where they become who they were meant to be. That's why we're here. This is where you became Captain America. And someone is always here to greet you. I had to fight Aunt Peggy to be here, by the way. And…"

Tony kept talking as the two of them walked out of the room, and Steve found himself in a completely new environment. The purple sky was lit with most stars than Steve had ever seen before, even when he had been in space. Animals lolled about, wandering amongst the scenery. Tony seemed completely comfortable with this, and yet it seemed almost completely unnatural.

Steve dragged his feet, trying to take in everything, and Tony noticed that Steve was falling behind. The older man turned around to face the former soldier and raised an eyebrow. "What's up Steve?"

Turning to look at Tony, Steve shook his head. "I don't know what I was expecting...but it wasn't this. Is God here? The angels? Where are we? Why are we here? What…" The crisis of faith was almost overwhelming to Steve, and then all of a sudden, he was falling.

Unable to see or hear through his panic, Steve's breathing rapidly increased. A loud buzzing filled his head. He couldn't breath...he couldn't...he...he…."Steve? STEVE? Steve look at me! C'mon buddy look at me?"

Tony's voice broke through the haze, and Steve's vision cleared enough to see his friend's concerned face. "C'mon Steve, look at me. See me? Match my breathing for me 'kay? In, hold, out, hold. Alright? Watch me. In, hold, out, hold. Come on, you try."

Steve tried to focus on his breathing. In, hold, out, in, in, out, hold…IT WASN'T WORKING!...the frustration slowly began to take over, but Tony started speaking again.

"C'mon Steve breath with me here. Come on, in, hold, out, hold. 1, 2, 3, 4, you can do it. Come on. Breath with me. In? Good. Hold it a sec. Great, now breath out, wait a sec, and do it again. In? Hold? Out? Hold? Good. Again. Keep doing that buddy. Once more for me okay?"

After a few moments, Steve was able to get his breathing under control. The buzzing in his ears faded, and slowly, Steve was able to process his environment again.

"Wha...What was that?" He asked, still in shock, a little bit."

Tony snorted. "That was a panic attack, a pretty bad one, I'd say."

"A panic attack?" Steve questioned.

"It's when your brain gets so caught up in overwhelming fear or stress, and you're then unable to process anything else except the thing that your brain is caught on. Every person is different when it comes to panic attacks, but they're usually triggered by something, like a specific phrase or situation. There are other causes, but those aren't as common."

"I...I just don't know what I was expecting?"

"Well, you're Catholic right? Irish Catholic?" Tony pressed on. "You were probably expecting either fire and brimstone or large gates with fluffy white clouds?"

Steve nodded, still slightly numb. "That's okay. The way people have tried to explain it is that none of the faiths in the world quite got it right when they were explaining Heaven to people, but all of them have contributed to what it's become. The Egyptians for example, they brought the whole judgement of the soul on the scales thing to the table, and the Greeks slash Abrahamic religions got the Heaven versus Hell thing, reincarnation is an option thanks to Hinduism, they're all here. Also, there's no language barriers up here. So you could say whatever you want, and people understand. Also, we don't need to eat or sleep anymore, since our bodies have been remade eternally, or some shit like that, but people still do anyways, it's kind of a comfort thing. And...woah, I just realized I'm rambling. Sorry, I should probably stop before I make things worse."

Steve choked out a short laugh, and said "No, it's helping, a little bit. How did you know it was a panic attack?"

Tony shrugged. "I used to get them, after Afghanistan, and New York. A little bit after Sokovia too, and Siberia."

Steve's head shot up in alarm. "Siberia? After…?"

Tony nodded. Steve rubbed his hand over his face. "Jesus, Tony, I...I am so sorry. I put you through most of that, and I didn't even consider...I...how are you not screaming at me right now?"

"Because I forgave you idiot. A long time ago." Tony gently whispered, grasping Steve's shoulders.

"A lot has happened, in the time we've known each other. After Siberia, I blamed you for a lot, but I've come to realize, that blame is something that ought to be shared. We both had our parts in what happened, and the same rule applies to the Snap. It was all our faults, but we fixed it. And you know what, we did that together, just like you said we would. So, I forgave you. I forgave you Steve, and not it's time to forgive yourself, okay?"

Tony made eye-contact with the soldier, and sent him a reassuring smile, before clearing his throat and standing up. "Now come on, before both Peggy and Natasha send out search parties for you."

Peggy and Natasha? Steve mulled the combination over in his head before processing what was happening. He was dead, but his friends were here. He was with them. And Peggy and Natasha were looking for them. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go, let's go now, before they end up giving each other bad ideas. Which way?"

Tony laughed, and by god, Steve had missed making the other man laugh. Tony pointed in a specific direction, and together, the two men walked onwards.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve didn't know what, or rather who to expect as he walked in the direction Tony had pointed. The path seemed to go on forever, and the longer that it did, the less sure Steve was on who would be there. But before he could express those thoughts to Tony, someone interrupted him. "Well I'll be damned, here they are!" Steve placed the voice immediately. He grinned, taking in the sight of Dum Dum Dugan, still wearing his bowler hat. More people rallied around Dugan. Morita, Falsworth, Jones, Pinkerton, Sawyer, and Dernier popped out of the bushed. Soon enough, Steve found himself smothered in a pile of bodies, and Tony was standing to the side, chuckling at the group's antics.

By the time Steve had extracted himself from the group, he found himself face to face with his mother. Steve's mouth dropped in shock, having not seen her since before World War 2. All of a sudden, he wrapped her in a hug, and a wave of nostalgia hit Steve so hard, he almost fell over. But the meet-n-greet wasn't over yet. Opening his eyes, he immediately locked eyes with his wife. There she was, there was Peggy. His Peggy.

She grinned at him, her trademark ruby lips stretched wide across her perfect face. She rushed forward, but before Steve could hug her, his face snapped to the side so hard he had whiplash. She...she had SLAPPED him! Steve reached up to rub his face, and he looked at her in surprise and confusion.

She shrugged, and said "That is for two things; firstly, kissing our niece. Honestly Steve, you should've known better. And secondly, that was also for fucking with my godson. We will be having words later Captain Rodgers!"

Steve was trying to keep up, and could barely say anything, except…"Godson?"

Tony practically slid to hug Peggy from behind, and with a goofy grin, waved his fingers and said "Hi!"

Steve rolled his eyes, unsurprised by Stark's antics. "Of course." Howard and Peggy had remained close throughout their careers after the war, Steve remembered the day she'd come home and told him about how Howard's wife had gone into labor. Steve had stayed pretty far away from Tony, afraid of influencing things and changing the timeline too much, but Peggy had made enough time to visit him as much as possible before Howard and Maria died.

Speaking of Howard, the man had gently pulled Tony off of Peggy, and come into Steve's line of sight. Steve leant forward and shook Howard's hand, noticing how comfortable Tony seemed around his father. It was completely opposite to how Tony had acted when Howard was a subject when they were both...alive, but Steve wasn't going to complain.

Slowly, the group began to shift, and walk towards a house, the lake house Tony had build, Steve realized. Over the course of a few weeks, the lake house had become a congregation point of sorts for the Avengers, and the deceased extended family. Tony led everyone inside, and the Howling Commandos, and Steve's mom settled amongst the couches, while Natasha and Peggy perched on a couple bar stools between the kitchen and the living room. Howard greeted his wife, whom had been in the kitchen, and Steve introduced himself properly to her.

Maria smiled, and caressed Steve's face with her hand. "Thank you, for making my son happy." Steve paused, not knowing what to say, but then movement caught his eye. Tony snuck out of the room, into the adjoining workshop, and being the curious cat he was, Steve followed him.

The workshop had a more rustic feel compared to the one at the Avengers compound, but the pristine chaos of the environment suited it's inhabitant very well. Tony was sat at a small desk, a set of goggles on his head. Steve knocked on the door frame, not wanting to surprise the other man. Tony looked up, surprised to see Steve.

"What are you doing out here? I would've thought that you'd be catching up with everyone." Tony asked, turning around to face Steve. Steve shrugged and said "I wanted to finish our conversation."

Tony adopted a confused look, but Steve continued. "You might've forgiven me for everything that happened, but I still need to apologize." Tony opened his mouth to protest, but Steve cut him off. "You need to accept that what I did to you was wrong. We are different people, and we strive for different things, but after what happened with Rumlow, and the United Nations, I should've listened to you. I should have talked to you, I should've TRUSTED you. You were doing your best in a tight situation, and I sure as hell wasn't making things easier. Adding on to that, I should've told you about Bucky from the beginning, after DC happened. I should've told you about your parents, and I shouldn't have left you in Siberia like that. I almost killed you Tony, and didn't consider your reactions at all. And I am so so sorry, Tony, because you deserved better, and I let you down, consistently."

Tony raised an eyebrow, and when Steve finished, he said "You done?" Steve started, not knowing how to responded. "Good," Tony continued. "My turn."

"Steve, you have a bad habit of taking too much on your shoulders, you know that? What happened in DC, with Barnes, in Africa with Wanda, with me in Siberia, it was not your fault. I'll give you part of the blame since you seem so keen on having some, but part of it is on me too. I should have recognized that your perspective was coming from somewhere, with government oversight ending badly for you most of the time. I should have respected that more, and I should have eased up on pushing the Accords. I knew they weren't perfect, but I was so concerned with getting them in place, I didn't think about what I was signing over. As for the whole situation with Barnes, I get it, I do. I would have done anything for Rhodey. Pepper or Happy too. They are my best friends, and I'm with them to the end of the line, just like you and Barnes. You were protective of him, and he was more than just your friend. He was a lifeline, a link to a past you thought you had lost. You knew him well enough to believe him when he was right. I should've trusted that. I'm sorry too Steve."

Speechless, Steve didn't know what else to do, but hold his arm out for a handshake. Tony roller his eyes, and pulled the Captain in for a hug. For the first time since Peggy's funeral, Steve allowed himself to cry. Tony gripped the blond man closer, not even caring that his shirt was getting damper from his tears.

A few moments later, Steve huffed to a stop, but didn't let go of Tony. Tony stroked the Captain's hair, reminiscent of all the times he had comforted Morgan after a nightmare.

Finally, Steve chuckled, and Tony was startled by the noise. "Jesus," Steve whispered. "I'm a mess."

Tony snorted. "You should've seen me the night of my funeral. I don't think I ever cried that hard."

Steve shifted back suddenly. "Your funeral? How did you know when..."

Tony smiles, and led Steve out of the room. They came before the smart table, and Tony pulled up a screen. A live video feed popped up, and slowly, Steve started to recognize who was there. It was a military funeral, at Arlington National.

"What is this?" Steve asked, confused. Tony, not taking his eyes off the screen, answered. "Tables like these are available in every house here. They allow us to see what's happening real time to our loved ones. They can't see or hear us, and we can't affect their world in any way, but it gives us a chance to see them, know them, as they go on without us. I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, this is your funeral."

There was a large group of officials, and all of the Avengers were there. Sam wore a dress uniform, and Bucky and Wanda stood next to him in formal wear. Steve's children stood next to them, and their youngest child, Natasha, was holding a folded American flag. Fury stood behind her, and Sharon next to him. A casket was being laid into the ground, and a simple headstone was engraved with Steve's name. A round of gunfire fired off, and Steve could see little Morgan flinch as the noise rang out.

Steve put his hand on the engineer's shoulder. "I'm sorry you didn't get more time with her. You deserved it Tony."

Tony reached up and patted his friend's hand, grimacing. "Thanks Cap." His voice cracked as he said it.

Peggy's voice interrupted the silence. "Steve, you might want to stop your mother telling the Commando's all your embarrassing baby stories sooner rather than later."

Steve and Tony glanced at each other, before Tony looked at his godmother. "Wait, I missed that? SARAH, wait on me!" The engineer ran out of the room, trying to catch the end of the stories being regaled to his company.

Peggy smiled at her godson rushed past her, and Steve chuckled at his antics as well. The couple then locked eyes with each other, and she held out her hand, waiting for him to take it and follow her.

Steve started at her for a moment, considering briefly just how lucky he was. They continued out towards the rest of the group, their hands clutched together, and slowly, Steve Rodgers began to be at peace.


	4. Chapter 4

In the days that followed Thanos' attack on the Avengers compound, the world came to a standstill. People who had returned found themselves traumatized by the events that had occurred, and the people who had stayed, the ones who had started to heal, were set back to five years ago while stuck with the memories.

Peter Parker was one such individual. Going back to Midtown High was a horrifying experience, because half the people he was supposed to graduate with, were now graduating college. One of his favorite teachers had committed suicide, post-Snap, after losing his wife and daughter, and the ones that didn't die as a result of Thanos' actions...they didn't come back. Half of the population may have turned to dust, but millions died in the aftermath, and they're still gone.

And yet, despite all that, Peter still had to go back to school. He wasn't alone of course, Ned and MJ were with him, and there were some new kids in his class that Peter was growing close with. Khamala, Miles, Sam, and Riri were all technically five years younger than Peter, but they hadn't died in the Snap.

Classes weren't normally a struggle for Peter, but after what happened, he couldn't seem to find it within himself to care about his grades anymore. He didn't care about being Spiderman either. Aunt May had noticed, it was clear to almost everyone. Peter was different now. Some people chalked it up to having a hard time processing what had happened, but only May and Ned knew the truth. Peter had lost the second father-figure he had in his life, and that was worse.

The day of Tony's funeral, Peter almost didn't go. He didn't know how he could face it. How he would face Pepper, and Tony's little girl, Morgan, who just happened to have her dad's smile, and his eyes. But May took him anyways. After they sent off the wreath, Peter saw another boy, about his age, with the same haunted look in his eye, that Peter himself had seen in a mirror. As people wandered off in their separate ways, Peter approached the boy.

"You must be Harley Keener. Mr. Stark...Tony told me about you."

The blond didn't turn around, but sighed in acknowledgement. "And you must be Peter Parker. He told me about you too."

Harley glanced back at the brunet who had approached him. Tears glistened in the corner of his eyes. "Wanna swap stories?"

Peter felt a sob emerge from his throat, but he swallowed it back down and nodded. They sat on a park bench, not far from the lake, and began exchanging tales of interactions with Tony. May knew that the adults were doing the same inside the house, but she glanced at Pepper, who was watching the boys thoughtfully. The two women shared a look, and then Pepper knelt down and made eye contact with Morgan, who was clinging to the hem of her dress.

"Hey Mo, do you see those boys over there?" Pepper nudged her daughter gently. The little girl nodded. "Well, those two are your big brothers. Why don't you go ask them to tell you stories about papa?"

Morgan's eyes widened. "I have big brothers?" For the first time since Tony died, Morgan smiled, and waddled over to the teens on the bench. As she got closer, she realized they were both crying.

She approached the bench slowly, and walked around, before reaching up, and tugged on Peter's jacket. Peter wiped his eyes, trying to figure out who had touched him, only to see her looking up. Peter tapped Harley on the shoulder, and the two stared at her with a bewildered look.

Trying to overcome the shy feeling, Morgan stuck her head up, and said "Mama says you two are my big brothers, and you can tell me about my daddy."

Both of the teens were speechless, and Peter whipped round to glance at Pepper. She and May were watching from the porch, and Pepper sent a reassuring nod to the boy. Tears welled up in Peter's eyes, and he turned back around to look at Morgan. He nodded, still unable to formulate words, but finally, was able to choke something out.

"Yeah, uh, we are. My name's Peter, this is Harley. And...and of course we can tell you about your dad. What do you want to know?"

Morgan's eyes widened, and she thought for a moment. She decided on a question, and said "How much do you love my daddy? Because I love him 3000! Which is a lot! How much do you love him?"

Harley smiled, and held his hands out to the little girl. She climbed up onto his lap, and snuggled into his arms. "We love him 3000 too."

Morgan gasped. "You do?" She clapped her hands. "Mommy says Daddy is a superhero. Do you know what that means?"

Peter laughed, a strange thing to do while still crying. "Yeah. A superhero is a really special person. They help people, and save lives. And you know what? Your daddy... he is...was...the best superhero. And I want to be just like him."

"Are you a superhero too?" Morgan asked, curiously. Peter thought for a moment, and then leant close to her, and began to stage-whisper. "Yeah, I am, but it's a secret, okay. Can you keep a secret Morgan." The girl enthusiastically nodded. Peter gave the little girl a high-five. "Well, here's the secret. I am Spider-Man."

Morgan's mouth dropped open. "My daddy told me about you!" She yelled, excitedly. "He said...he said that you can crawl up walls, and hang from the ceiling, and swing above the clouds! You fight crime, in exchange for churros!"

Peter drew back in shock. She knew about him. Tony had told her about him. Morgan began reciting the last story Tony had told her about Spider-Man, and how they had teamed up to stop evil aliens flying a donut from destroying New York. Harley looked at Peter in surprise, clearly not prepared to know the superhero's real identity.

Morgan kept chattering on, and as she told the story, Peter began to chime in, adding details about Tony's contributions to the fight, and how Hulk refused to show up because he was sulking. Morgan laughed, and Harley sniffed. "Well, I'm cool too you know!"

Morgan looked up at him in wonder. "Are you a superhero too?" Harley faltered. "Well, no, but I helped your dad save people too. Together, we took down a terrorist organization. And he helped me build a potato gun."

"Oooh, can you teach me?" Morgan asked. "I want a potato gun, it sounds fun."

Harley stuttered. "Well, uh, sure...but maybe not today...we don't have the tools...and…" Morgan wriggled out of his arms, and ran to Pepper. "Mommy, can we go into Daddy's workshop and build a potato gun?" She yelled as she toddled across the lawn. Pepper raised her eyebrow, and shot Harley a look, and he did his best to look guilty and mouthed sorry to her.

"Please Mommy, can we?" Morgan begged, and Pepper found her willpower crumbling. Tony had taught her how to do the puppy-dog eyes, and she had a feeling she would be subjected to that look a lot as her daughter grew up.

Finally, Pepper nodded, and said "Sure, but make sure Happy's watching okay. And Harley? Peter? If she gets hurt, you will have me, and then Tony to deal with, understand?"

The two teenage boys quailed, and nodded under the redhead's stern look. Morgan cheered, and waved the boys over. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, we gotta find Uncle Happy. Let's go!" She ran back and grabbed the boys' hands, and yanked them towards the direction of Happy Hogan.

"HAPPY!" Morgan yelled, looking around for the security guard. The adults all glanced around, surprised at the set of lungs at which the small girl was able to use to yell for the older man. Finally she found him, talking to her uncle Rhodey, and another man she didn't recognize, who was wearing an eyepatch.

"Happy Happy Happy! Come on come on come on!" Morgan pleaded with the older man. She let go of the teenagers to tug on his jacket.

Happy looked down at her. "What's up Mo? Where are we going?"

Morgan smiled at him. "We're going to Daddy's workshop. Harley's gonna teach me how to build a potato gun!"

Happy looked up sharply at the boy. "Is he now?" A warning edge was present in his tone.

Morgan rolled her eyes, and said "Mommy said it's okay, as long as you're there to watch."

Happy looked between her and Harley and Peter before acquiescing. "Fine," Happy sighed. "But you're not touching any of the tools young miss."

"Yay! Potato gun potato gun potato gun!" Morgan cheered as she marched through the house towards the garage. As she did, she continued to attract attention, and before long, the three Barton children and the Wakandan princess were joining the procession to see the potato gun. Cassie Lang also joined the group, and Bruce Banner watched as the kids marched, happy to see that the young Stark had inherited her father's enthusiasm.

Up in Valhalla, Tony watched as Harley patiently taught his little girl about materials and pressure build up, and hydraulics, and all of the kids chimed in to influence the making of this potato gun. A tear came to his eye as they all worked together. Happy watched with a stern eye, taking the safety of his friend's daughter very seriously, but internally softened, upon seeing the loving care that emitted from both Peter and Harley as Morgan built her first weapon of choice.

In the end, the blaster was the perfect size for the little girl, painted red and gold like the Iron Man suit, and while Happy wouldn't let her fire potatoes, Cassie found some marshmallows in the pantry, and Lila Barton taught her how to nail targets.

To make things more interesting, Peter, Cooper, Nathaniel and Shuri then ran around trying to catch the marshmallows, and soon enough, the kids were laughing and playing, while the adults all watched with joy.

Tony looked on at his kids as they played, chuckling when Morgan was able to shoot a marshmallow right into Peter's mouth, and Natasha watched the engineer as he slowly began to believe his family would be okay.


	5. Chapter 5

Bucky Barnes ducked as a hail of bullets sailed over his head, and not for the first time, he wondered how he got himself into situations like these. "Sam, I'm pinned down on Park Avenue, can I get an assist?"

Sam dodge an rpg that flew into the side of some corporate offices. "On...shit, on my way."

Plenty of gangs had decided to start some chaos with half of the population suddenly returning after five years. New York was no exception. Within a matter of days, major cities had turned into war zones, and it seemed like the whole world was in need of the Avengers.

Sam had been doing his best, trying to fill Steve's role, but the toll was apparent. Bruce and Scott were trying to handle LA and San Francisco, Clint was up in Chicago with Wanda. Everyone everywhere had problems that needed fixing, and the Avengers were simeltaneously blamed for them, and yet required to fix it. Carol was trying to smooth things over with the United Nations, and Rhodey was with her, and Pepper, god bless her, had dedicated resources to the team, because that was what Tony would have wanted.

Bucky ducked again, the impact of bullets against the concrete where his head would have been getting on his nerves once more. "SAM!"

The call came just in time. As another round fired from the thugs' machine guns, Sam dropped out of the sky, the shield protecting the two men from the bullets. The clang of the impact rang out, and the assailants backed up in shock.

Sam stood up, and his wings spread out in a threatening manner. "Now, I'm gonna say this once; put down the guns, and go home."

One of the stupider-looking thugs shouted back "Or what?" A few racial slurs were also slung at Sam, which was also not a first since he took over as Captain America. Bucky clenched his jaw, and snapped. He placed the muzzle mask on his face, and swung over the barricade that was hiding him from the shooters. His metal arm glinted in the sunlight, and his gun was gripped in his other hand.

He landed with a heavy thud, in front of Sam, and began walking towards the shooters, his gun raised, and a look of pure murder in his eyes. He was tired of this. Apparently that was threatening enough, because the thugs tripped over themselves, running from the Winter Soldier.

Bucky fired off a shot, intentionally missing the head of one of the punks, and they all ran faster back to whatever hole they crawled out of. He smiled, and removed the mask, and turned back to Sam, who was also smiling.

"Or you deal with him." Sam whispered, but Bucky caught it. He couldn't help it, the sniper started laughing. Sam grinned, and patted the sniper on the arm, and the two of them turned to go stop some more chaos in another part of the city.

Over in Queens, in a classroom in Midtown High, the senior chemistry class of fourth period was abuzz. The permission slips for the class trip had been handed out, and everyone was excited by the prospect of going on vacation for spring break.

As they broke for the end of class, Peter and Ned led their newfound friends to Peter's apartment, where the teens had taken to hanging out once in a while. MJ helped herself to a soda in the fridge, while Miles, RiRi, Harley, Khamala, and Sam settled around the couch in the living room. May was at work, having taken to volunteering at a shelter over the past five years.

Peter dropped his backpack off in his room, and went to go rejoin his friends. "So, MJ...what part of the trip are you really looking forward to?" He was trying to make conversation with her, especially over the past few weeks, having developed a slight crush on the activist.

The girl shrugged, and said "I dunno. Probably Germany, and see where the Berlin Walk used to be?"

Ned blurted out "Peter's been to Germany!"

Peter shot Ned a look, and Ned covered his mouth, realizing that he had probably said something he shouldn't...again.

"Really, Peter? What was it like?" Khamala asked, interested.

Peter coughed, and said "Well...uh, I didn't get to see much of it, because I had my internship to do, but it looked really cool."

"Woah, dude, you got an internship in Germany?" Miles exclaimed.

"No, no, no, the internship was in New York, but we did a business trip to Germany."

"Wow, that's really interesting. Who was the internship with?" Khamala asked.

Peter tensed, and looked down. "Sta...It was with Stark Industries. Working on their R&D department."

Harley shot Peter a knowing look, but the tone of the room got really quiet for a moment. Most of the teens in the room had respected Tony Stark, and after the man died, it still hurt talking about him.

"Did you ever get to meet...y'know, him?" Miles asked, tentatively.

Peter bit his lip, and nodded. "Yeah, uh, we worked closely together on a load of projects. He even wrote me a recommendation letter to get into MIT, in their biochemistry department."

Miles, Sam, and RiRi all sat up in interest. "Did you ever see the suit, the Iron Man suit?" RiRi asked. She'd been fascinated by the suit, and was trying to build her own at home, not that she'd ever told anyone that.

Peter smiled. "Yeah. It was amazing. Operating it was even cooler."

RiRi's mouth dropped in shock. "You've PILOTED the Iron Man suit?"

Even Harley was interested now. Peter nodded, and RiRi pulled her laptop out. "What was it like? What did the HUD look like? Did the internal pilot cradle adapt per pilot?" The questions kept coming, and Peter and Harley were stunned by her questions.

Finally, without answering any, Peter pulled out his phone, and opened his contacts. Finding the number he was looking for, he stopped RiRi, and said "Okay. I can't answer any of those questions."

The girl looked disappointed, but Peter continued. "But I can give you the number of someone who can." RiRi looked at him in confusion. Peter read off the number and she wrote it down.

"Who's number did you just give me?"

"Hold on, there's a second number I want to give you." Peter read out that one, and then cleared his throat.

"Now, you can not give those out to anyone okay? Promise?" She nodded, and then Peter said "Okay, the first number is for Friday. She's the AI that was intergrated into the latest suit models. She's be able to answer most, if not all, of the technical questions you ask, just say that I gave you her number. Okay?"

RiRi looked down at that number like it was a diamond, and then said "And who does the second number belong to?"

Peter showed her the name of the contact, and RiRi helped in shock. "You gave me WarMachine's cell phone number? You KNOW WarMachine? Holy crap, I can call WarMachine? Are you serious!"

She leapt over and almost crushed Peter in a hug, and then packed her bag back up. "I'm sorry, I have to go, I have a lot of work to do. Peter, thank you so much, I will pay you back somehow. Oh my god, this is amazing."

She ran out of the apartment, and the door slammed behind her. The remaining teens stared after her in shocked silence.

Khamala finally broke the silence. "You wouldn't happen to have Captain Marvel's number in there too would you?"

The teens laughed, and Peter chuckled too, knowing that he did in fact have Carol Danvers' number in his phone. Miles chimed in. "Or Spider-Man's?" The laughing continued, but a knowing look passed between Peter, Harley, and Ned.

Peter's phone rang, cutting the laughter off, and the teens quieted, and Peter picked up, not looking at the caller id?"

"Hello?"

"Peter, hey, it's Happy. Do you have a minute? I'd like to chat for a minute."

A lump formed in Peter's throat. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Where do you want to meet?"

"You know the cheeseburger place on 73rd? Stan's? Can you meet me there in say...20 minutes?"

Peter checked the time, and said "Sure. I'm on my way."

"Great, see you then." Happy hung up, and frowned.

"Who was that?" Ned asked.

"It was Happy. He wants to meet." Peter mumbled, suddenly getting a bad feeling.

"Go." Harley said. "We'll head out. Plus, we all have to study for the history exam on Monday."

The teens collectively groaned, but collected their bags. Ned hugged Peter, and Harley patted his shoulder as they left. Miles nodded, and Sam and Khamala smiled. MJ flung a peace sign over her shoulder, and Peter watched her leave.

Making sure that they were all gone, Peter beelined for the window in his bedroom, and used the fire escape to climb to the roof. He activated the Iron Spider suit and began making his way to go meet Happy.

In a makeshift workshop inside a small apartment only a few blocks away, RiRi Williams hung up from what might have been the most important phone call in her life. On the computer screen in front of her, displayed completed schematics for a brand new Iron Man suit. She smiled to herself, and saved the file under the name "IronHeart_Mark01". Above in Valhalla, Tony smiled down at her. He approved.


	6. Chapter 6

Riri Williams was a lot of things, but subtle was rarely one of them. As soon as she'd explained to Colonel Rhodes that no, she was not just a creepy fangirl, and yes, Peter had given her his number willingly, he had been open to talking to her about the Iron Man suit. She was sitting nervously outside of her apartment building, waiting for an Uber to take her to the Avengers facility where Rhodes had invited her to see some of the behind-the-scenes for the Iron Man suit exhibit, where all of Tony's work was displayed as a tribute to him.

All of a sudden, Riri heard someone calling her name. She looked around, confused, before her eyes landed on Peter, who was frantically waving from the back window of a large, black SUV. She rushed across the street, spreading her arms as if to say "What the hell are you doing here?"

Peter opened the car door for her, and said "Hop in, we're giving you a ride."

"We're? What? Wait, what is happening?"

"Rhodes called me, said you two were having a meeting, and I thought you could use a ride. Also, there's someone I want to introduce you to."

Riri stared at the woman in front of her. The woman smiled at Peter, and said "I was wondering when you would get to me."

Peter blushed, and said "Riri Williams, may I introduce Pepper Potts-Stark, aka Rescue."

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Williams, I remember your name from some of the fan emails that Tony used to get."

Riri's mouth dropped. "He actually read those? Wait, sorry, holdup. Backtracking. Um...hi. It's nice to meet you as well Ms. Potts, I've heard so much about you. Also, Rescue?"

Pepper nodded. "In case of an emergency, I am permitted to operate on the Avengers team as a subbed-in pilot for my own Iron Man armor, which has been dubbed Rescue by my late husband. And yes, Tony did read those. He loved reading them. He just never made the time to reply."

Riri mulled that fact over in her head for a moment, before frowning. "Okay, hold on. Peter, what the hell?"

Peter froze, and looked at her. "You had an internship with Stark Industries. You met Tony, you met Ms. Potts here, and you met Colonel Rhodes. How on earth did…"

"I'm Spiderman." Peter blurted out.

It was Riri's turn to freeze. She stared at her friend and classmate, trying to process what he had just told her. "You...you...you...what?"

"Harley and Ned both know as well, but I'm telling you because the last thing I want to explain is why I have access to the Avengers facility. Plus, for a superhero, I am really bad at keeping secrets."

Pepper hummed in acknowledgement, clearly aware that Peter was a horrible secret-keeper.

Riri blinked and then breathed in sharply. It made sense. Peter was incredibly skilled athletically, but didn't participate in sports. He was usually distracted, especially when school came to an end, and wasn't available around nighttime. And he was always jittery when Spiderman came up in conversation. Plus, she'd never seen Spiderman and Peter in the same room…"

"Don't tell Miles." Riri finally said.

Peter startled. "What?"

"Don't tell Miles, he'll freak out. He's a huge Spider-fan, you should see his murals."

Peter smiled, and said "I know. I gave one a shout-out on Twitter on the official Spiderman page, and he passed out in excitement. I had to shake him really hard so that his dad didn't freak out."

"Did you see the new one, by your building?" Riri asked. Miles had sent her a photograph, and it was her favorite one so far.

Peter shook his head. "I know that he was working on it, but I haven't seen…" Riri passed him her phone, the picture displayed on the screen before he could finish talking. He frowned and said "You need to pay a cancellation fee to your Uber driver." Riri swore under her breath, and tapped away on her phone for a moment, before passing it back to him. Peter paused, and brought his fist to his mouth, probably to smother a sob.

It was a beautiful rendering of Iron Man, the face plate actually open, to see Tony's face. He was looking upwards, in the same angle his body was facing, and his right hand was gloved by the Infinity gauntlet, all of which emitted a soft glow. The arc reactor in his chest plate seemed to glow as well. At his waist, a small phrase was painted on the artwork. "His sacrifice saved us all."

Candles were placed under the mural in the picture, and a small golden Iron Man Funko Pop figure was sat amongst them. Miles' signature was slightly hidden by the candles, but it was there as well.

Tears streamed down from Peter's eyes, and he extended his arm to show Pepper the picture. Her hand flew to her face, and tears welled in her eyes too. Riri shot both of them a sad smile, and she rubbed Peter's arm, in an effort to show him some support.

"Ms. Potts?" Riri prompted, hoping to grab the woman's attention for a moment.

Pepper took in a deep breath, and composed herself. "Please, call me Pepper. Everyone does."

Riri took a moment to think about what she was about to say. "I would like to continue your husband's legacy if I may. He was a hero to me during my childhood, and his work inspired me to create something that prompted my desire to reach out to Colonel Rhodes."

Both Pepper and Peter looked confused. Riri paused, and then reached into her backpack. Immediately, both Peter and Pepper recognized what she was holding. It was an Iron Man helmet. The maroon pink contrasted on the glossy gold of the faceplate made it distinct enough, as well as some design changes to the shape of the exterior, but it was clearly an Iron Man helmet.

Pepper's mouth hung open, and Peter looked at his friend in both shock and wonder.

"You made this?" Pepper whispered.

Riri nodded. "Yes. I'd like to formally submit myself to participate as an Avenger, carrying on Mr. Stark's legacy as Iron Man."

Pepper smiled, and a tear rolled down her face. "I couldn't imagine a worthier successor. Tony would be very proud. But before I can approve, I have to know, what would your parents think?"

Riri looked down for a moment before saying "I don't have parents. I lived with my aunt for a while, but she died…she died a few years ago. I've been living on my own for a while."

Pepper looked alarmed, and typed something on her phone for a moment, before looking back at Riri. "I see. And you are still in high school?"

Riri nodded. "Yes, I attend Midtown High. I am legally an emancipated minor, I wasn't living with my aunt before she died. And I earn money doing freelance coding, so I have a source of income to pay for my apartment. But, I want to do more with my life. I can do more, and I think this is the best thing anyone could do."

Peter remained silent, and Riri grew worried that he would say something bad. But she needn't have, because a moment later, Peter looked down at her backpack, and asked "Do you have the rest of the suit in there?"

Riri snorted, and shook her head. "No. I only have the helmet and a functional interface, but I'm hoping that Colonel Rhodes would be interested in helping me develop the rest of the suit."

"He won't say no. I'll ask him to work with you and Stark Industries will fund the development." Pepper was typing something on her phone as she said that, like she didn't just said the one thing that would fundamentally change Riri's life.

Peter chuckled at the look on her face. "When the suit's operational, you can join me on some patrols. It'll be nice to have someone else to talk to besides Karen."

Riri cocked her head to the side. "Who's Karen?"

"Karen's the AI embedded in my suit. She helps me out in combat. Maybe you can have Karen too, we'll have to ask Rhodey, if she can be in two suits."

Pepper nodded, and typed on her phone some more. "Riri, what is your address?"

Riri gave it to her, and waited until Ms. Potts put her phone down to ask why.

"I'm having some of Tony's lab equipment moved there, and setting you up with the financial means to continue building the suit, and get you a steadier source of income. Consider yourself official employed by Stark Industries' R&D department for now. We'll also reach out and get a schedule set up so you can go through the process of signing the Accords and getting the mandatory training required to go out on missions. Eventually, we'll also need you to talk to the press as well. Have you given any thought as to the name you would like to be called if you were to operate in the field?"

Riri nodded, still stunned and trying to process what she had just heard, but eventually she realized that she was taking a long time to answer the question, and opened her mouth to provide the name. "Iron Heart."

Pepper and Peter grinned at each other. "That's perfect." Pepper said.

Up in Valhalla, Tony watched all of this, tears running down his face. His Pepper was so strong, and he couldn't agree more that there wasn't a worthier successor. As he watched the car enter the Avengers compound, and Riri twirled around in wonder, trying to take everything in, he turned back to the computer in front of him. On the screen were schematics for a machine, similar to the quantum machine that he had built, only this one wasn't designed to jump through time. This would allow Tony to jump through dimensions.


	7. Chapter 7

Riri Williams was a lot of things, but subtle was rarely one of them. As soon as she'd explained to Colonel Rhodes that no, she was not just a creepy fangirl, and yes, Peter had given her his number willingly, he had been open to talking to her about the Iron Man suit. She was sitting nervously outside of her apartment building, waiting for an Uber to take her to the Avengers facility where Rhodes had invited her to see some of the behind-the-scenes for the Iron Man suit exhibit, where all of Tony's work was displayed as a tribute to him.

All of a sudden, Riri heard someone calling her name. She looked around, confused, before her eyes landed on Peter, who was frantically waving from the back window of a large, black SUV. She rushed across the street, spreading her arms as if to say "What the hell are you doing here?"

Peter opened the car door for her, and said "Hop in, we're giving you a ride."

"We're? What? Wait, what is happening?"

"Rhodes called me, said you two were having a meeting, and I thought you could use a ride. Also, there's someone I want to introduce you to."

Riri stared at the woman in front of her. The woman smiled at Peter, and said "I was wondering when you would get to me."

Peter blushed, and said "Riri Williams, may I introduce Pepper Potts-Stark, aka Rescue."

"It's nice to meet you Ms. Williams, I remember your name from some of the fan emails that Tony used to get."

Riri's mouth dropped. "He actually read those? Wait, sorry, holdup. Backtracking. Um...hi. It's nice to meet you as well Ms. Potts, I've heard so much about you. Also, Rescue?"

Pepper nodded. "In case of an emergency, I am permitted to operate on the Avengers team as a subbed-in pilot for my own Iron Man armor, which has been dubbed Rescue by my late husband. And yes, Tony did read those. He loved reading them. He just never made the time to reply."

Riri mulled that fact over in her head for a moment, before frowning. "Okay, hold on. Peter, what the hell?"

Peter froze, and looked at her. "You had an internship with Stark Industries. You met Tony, you met Ms. Potts here, and you met Colonel Rhodes. How on earth did…"

"I'm Spiderman." Peter blurted out.

It was Riri's turn to freeze. She stared at her friend and classmate, trying to process what he had just told her. "You...you...you...what?"

"Harley and Ned both know as well, but I'm telling you because the last thing I want to explain is why I have access to the Avengers facility. Plus, for a superhero, I am really bad at keeping secrets."

Pepper hummed in acknowledgement, clearly aware that Peter was a horrible secret-keeper.

Riri blinked and then breathed in sharply. It made sense. Peter was incredibly skilled athletically, but didn't participate in sports. He was usually distracted, especially when school came to an end, and wasn't available around nighttime. And he was always jittery when Spiderman came up in conversation. Plus, she'd never seen Spiderman and Peter in the same room…"

"Don't tell Miles." Riri finally said.

Peter startled. "What?"

"Don't tell Miles, he'll freak out. He's a huge Spider-fan, you should see his murals."

Peter smiled, and said "I know. I gave one a shout-out on Twitter on the official Spiderman page, and he passed out in excitement. I had to shake him really hard so that his dad didn't freak out."

"Did you see the new one, by your building?" Riri asked. Miles had sent her a photograph, and it was her favorite one so far.

Peter shook his head. "I know that he was working on it, but I haven't seen…" Riri passed him her phone, the picture displayed on the screen before he could finish talking. He frowned and said "You need to pay a cancellation fee to your Uber driver." Riri swore under her breath, and tapped away on her phone for a moment, before passing it back to him. Peter paused, and brought his fist to his mouth, probably to smother a sob.

It was a beautiful rendering of Iron Man, the face plate actually open, to see Tony's face. He was looking upwards, in the same angle his body was facing, and his right hand was gloved by the Infinity gauntlet, all of which emitted a soft glow. The arc reactor in his chest plate seemed to glow as well. At his waist, a small phrase was painted on the artwork. "His sacrifice saved us all."

Candles were placed under the mural in the picture, and a small golden Iron Man Funko Pop figure was sat amongst them. Miles' signature was slightly hidden by the candles, but it was there as well.

Tears streamed down from Peter's eyes, and he extended his arm to show Pepper the picture. Her hand flew to her face, and tears welled in her eyes too. Riri shot both of them a sad smile, and she rubbed Peter's arm, in an effort to show him some support.

"Ms. Potts?" Riri prompted, hoping to grab the woman's attention for a moment.

Pepper took in a deep breath, and composed herself. "Please, call me Pepper. Everyone does."

Riri took a moment to think about what she was about to say. "I would like to continue your husband's legacy if I may. He was a hero to me during my childhood, and his work inspired me to create something that prompted my desire to reach out to Colonel Rhodes."

Both Pepper and Peter looked confused. Riri paused, and then reached into her backpack. Immediately, both Peter and Pepper recognized what she was holding. It was an Iron Man helmet. The maroon pink contrasted on the glossy gold of the faceplate made it distinct enough, as well as some design changes to the shape of the exterior, but it was clearly an Iron Man helmet.

Pepper's mouth hung open, and Peter looked at his friend in both shock and wonder.

"You made this?" Pepper whispered.

Riri nodded. "Yes. I'd like to formally submit myself to participate as an Avenger, carrying on Mr. Stark's legacy as Iron Man."

Pepper smiled, and a tear rolled down her face. "I couldn't imagine a worthier successor. Tony would be very proud. But before I can approve, I have to know, what would your parents think?"

Riri looked down for a moment before saying "I don't have parents. I lived with my aunt for a while, but she died…she died a few years ago. I've been living on my own for a while."

Pepper looked alarmed, and typed something on her phone for a moment, before looking back at Riri. "I see. And you are still in high school?"

Riri nodded. "Yes, I attend Midtown High. I am legally an emancipated minor, I wasn't living with my aunt before she died. And I earn money doing freelance coding, so I have a source of income to pay for my apartment. But, I want to do more with my life. I can do more, and I think this is the best thing anyone could do."

Peter remained silent, and Riri grew worried that he would say something bad. But she needn't have, because a moment later, Peter looked down at her backpack, and asked "Do you have the rest of the suit in there?"

Riri snorted, and shook her head. "No. I only have the helmet and a functional interface, but I'm hoping that Colonel Rhodes would be interested in helping me develop the rest of the suit."

"He won't say no. I'll ask him to work with you and Stark Industries will fund the development." Pepper was typing something on her phone as she said that, like she didn't just said the one thing that would fundamentally change Riri's life.

Peter chuckled at the look on her face. "When the suit's operational, you can join me on some patrols. It'll be nice to have someone else to talk to besides Karen."

Riri cocked her head to the side. "Who's Karen?"

"Karen's the AI embedded in my suit. She helps me out in combat. Maybe you can have Karen too, we'll have to ask Rhodey, if she can be in two suits."

Pepper nodded, and typed on her phone some more. "Riri, what is your address?"

Riri gave it to her, and waited until Ms. Potts put her phone down to ask why.

"I'm having some of Tony's lab equipment moved there, and setting you up with the financial means to continue building the suit, and get you a steadier source of income. Consider yourself official employed by Stark Industries' R&D department for now. We'll also reach out and get a schedule set up so you can go through the process of signing the Accords and getting the mandatory training required to go out on missions. Eventually, we'll also need you to talk to the press as well. Have you given any thought as to the name you would like to be called if you were to operate in the field?"

Riri nodded, still stunned and trying to process what she had just heard, but eventually she realized that she was taking a long time to answer the question, and opened her mouth to provide the name. "Iron Heart."

Pepper and Peter grinned at each other. "That's perfect." Pepper said.

Up in Valhalla, Tony watched all of this, tears running down his face. His Pepper was so strong, and he couldn't agree more that there wasn't a worthier successor. As he watched the car enter the Avengers compound, and Riri twirled around in wonder, trying to take everything in, he turned back to the computer in front of him. On the screen were schematics for a machine, similar to the quantum machine that he had built, only this one wasn't designed to jump through time. This would allow Tony to jump through dimensions.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam looked at the compound research assistant in some measure of disgust, unable to contain his feelings regarding what sat in front of him. On a lab table, lay a suit. Specifically, a Falcon suit. A red, white and blue Falcon suit. The Captain America shield lay at the suit's feet, but frankly, that was the most subtle thing about the whole…thing. A bright blue body suit with the hardened padding painted in the red and white features was an affront to Sam's eyes. Even the wings were painted.

"Hell no, I'm not wearing that. Give me my old suit back."

"Mr. Wilson, as the new Captain America, you really should be…" The assistant, who's name Sam had forgotten upon seeing the suit, tried to insist.

"Nuh-uh. It looks like something out of that Sky High movie that came out years ago. It looks ridiculous."

"What does?" Bucky entered the room, and his eyes immediately locked onto the suit. It was hard to miss. He started cackling, and bent over, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "What…is…that?" He huffed out between the laughter.

Sam scowled. "It's my new suit. I did not approve this."

Bucky actually collapsed to the floor, his mirth interrupting the other research assistants. "You have to wear that!" Bucky called out, his hand clutched over his heart.

"No way. It looks stupid!" Sam retorted.

Bucky emitted another guffaw. "I know! That's why you have to wear it!"

Sam shot another scowl towards the Winter Soldier. "I hate you!" Sam muttered.

Finally, Bucky picked himself up off of the floor, and dusted himself off. "I know. You're still gonna wear that though."

Sam shook his head, and said "Not a chance."

Two days later, Sam prayed that the quinjet would be shot down. The suit was undergoing some design revisions, but in the meantime, the new color scheme would have to stick, because they had a mission.

Bucky was finishing strapping on his new arm shields. "Not a chance, huh?" The older man smirked, looking Sam up and down.

Sam groaned. "Shut up." When Clint took a look at the suit the day before, he practically almost sent himself into cardiac arrest from laughing so hard, and a leaked picture of the suit had made it to social media, where the internet had pulled out all the stops on roasting the suit.

Sam's particular favorite comment was one where someone had said that it looks like the American flag had vomited on the suit, because that was entirely accurate.

Bucky's new suit, on the other hand, was much subtler. Looking more like the stealth suit that Steve had worn when Hydra had been exposed, the black bodysuit was accented with grey and red, and the features of the Winter Soldier, including the star emblem and the lower face mask were included.

The pilot's voice then came over the PA system. "Heads up, we're coming over the drop point. You guys might want to get into positions."

The mission was fairly simple. Reports of wormholes, and strangely dressed beings popping through were sprinkled across the Midwest, and farmers were dealing with the property damage and theft they caused. The reason the Avengers were being called in though was because of the weaponry that some of the individuals carried, clearly not from Earth.

Thor had identified that some of the individuals might've been from Saakar, which means that the aliens were the Avenger's problem. Steven Strange and Dr. Jane Foster had been able to pick up a pattern in the wormholes, and they were anticipating another one opening in just 10 minutes.

Bucky positioned himself towards the aft of the quinjet, and the cargo door began to open. When the light signaling the okay to drop switched to green, Bucky took a running jump out of the plane.

Before Sam could follow him out of the plane, the pilot decided to get cocky. "Hey Wilson, shall I say the Pledge of Allegiance before you go?"

Sam grumbled to himself, before he too jumped off the quinjet. The pilot's laughter over the PA system could be heard for a moment, and then the wind rushing through Sam's ears drowned out everything else. Bucky was a few yards below Sam, his body flattened out, his limbs spread out.

Sam maneuvered his body into a similar position, and tapped the comm in his ear, before saying "Is this a bad time to do a comms check?"

Bucky tapped his own comm, and said "Nope. Not like we should've done that BEFORE jumping out of the plane."

Sam chuckled. "So did Princess Shuri have a say in your suit design? I'm noticing the Wakandan shields there, and I thought I'd ask."

"I don't know. But I'm sure she definitely didn't have a say in yours, you Star Spangled-looking starfish."

Sam swore in protest, before a recording of Steve's voice played over both of their comms. "Language."

"What the…" Bucky started to say.

"Are you two idiots done?" Nick Fury's voice sounded over the comms.

"Director Fury. Fancy meeting you here." Sam quipped in surprise.

Bucky noted the name, but remained silent.

Director Fury chuckled. "Barton wasn't kidding about that suit of yours Wilson. It does look like a Transformer."

Sam groaned, adding another horrible description to the growing list in his head. "What can we do for you Director Fury?"

"I'm running backup on this mission, while Danvers is off world. You two need to pull your chutes in a second."

"Not wearing chutes sir." Barnes finally said.

"WHA…" Fury yelled out before cutting himself off.

"Don't worry Director." Sam reassured. "I'm gonna catch his dumb ass."

Sam couldn't see the older man, but he knew that Fury was raising an eyebrow. "You better. I don't want to have to explain to Rodgers when I get to wherever I'm going why his best friend got there first."

Bucky chuckled. "You do know that Steve was famous for jumping out of planes without a parachute too right?"

"Yeah, but I could yell at his stupid ass, since the motherfucker has a habit of coming back from the dead. You on the other hand, I thought had more common sense."

Sam laughed at Bucky's offended gasp. "I think, Director, that the way that Spiderman has described the Avengers, as operating in the field with a limited number of collective braincells. And on a good day, neither Barnes nor Rodgers had one."

Fury snorted. "And who did have the braincells Wilson. You?"

"Nope," Sam said cheerfully. "Romanoff kept the braincells. Occassionally Stark had one or two, and Steve got one when he needed to say something patriotic, but the rest of us? Nah."

"You shouldn't talk about saying patriotic things." Bucky shot out.

Sam was confused. "Why's that?"

"Because everything you say in that suit is patriotic, no matter what you say."

If he could, Sam would have punched Barnes at that point. "I'm really tempted to just let him become a human pancake."

"Get over it. Wilson, move into position to catch Barnes. I don't want more paperwork to do today."

Sam began to swoop down, and grabbed the convenient handle on the back of Bucky's suit, before switching his wing thrusters into reverse, and both of their bodies snapped into a vertical position, hovering a couple feet off the ground. Sam let go as soon as momentum had taken it's course, and Bucky dropped into a crouching position. Sam folded his wings away and he landed on his feet.

The two Avengers surveyed the surrounding area, the farmland around them providing miles of clean lines of sight in all directions. Sam checked the HUD display on his wrist, confirming that they were in the right place, before Bucky elbowed Sam. He looked up to see an individual standing in front of them, that hadn't been there a moment ago.

Loki the God of Mischief, who had finally popped into the timeline in which Stark and his later self had been apart of, stood there, the Tesseract still in hand. He started at the Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and cleared his throat.

"Oh goodie. Just who I was looking for." Sam and Bucky both exchanged a look, thinking "This can't be good."


End file.
